Khan Toke

(415) 668-6654
5937 Geary Blvd.
(bet. 23rd & 24th)
San Francisco, CA
(Outer Richmond district)

Price: $-$$
Rating: 8.5 (Rating & price key)
Last visit: 04/13/05

Tasty Thai food in sumptuous surroundings (really - this is the prettiest Thai restaurant I've ever been in - by far). Shoes are removed on entry (you get a coat-check-style tag to reclaim them later) and seating is either lotus-style on the floor, or at equally-low tables with generous foot-boxes (I recommend the latter unless you're flexible and/or small).

The menu is large, but mostly comprised of the usual Thai items. Christina and I split a chicken sate, very well-seasoned, and with a chunkier peanut sauce than I'm used to, although it tasted good. I hogged a "extra spicy" duck laab salad, which was delicious - very spicy, but not too much so, with the fatty duck balancing out the leafy greens on which it was served. Our first entree to arrive was beef pad thai, a good, but not hugely memorable, rendition of this classic. The following chicken yellow curry, however, was excellent! Evenly flavored potatoes, tender chicken and a lovely creamy curry sauce blended harmoniously.

Much as I'd have liked to have tried a dessert, we were too full, delcared defeat, and found the bill to be pretty darned reasonable, especially for a place as beautifully-appointed as this ($44 incl. tax & tip for 2 apps, 2 entrees and a beer).

On a later trip, the pork-stuffed prawns were met with mixed reviews (I liked them, but both my mother and Sarah didn't care for the fishy dipping sauce), but we all loved the spicy tofu w/veggies and the beef with peanut sauce (with many more vegetables than the usual spinach, and all cooked nicely al dente).